U.S. – News ABChttp://newsabc.net
Thu, 27 Jul 2017 14:24:58 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.8.4In Afghanistan, U.S. senators call for coherent policy from Trumphttp://newsabc.net/afghanistan-u-s-senators-call-coherent-policy-trump/
Wed, 05 Jul 2017 12:04:06 +0000http://newsabc.net/?p=7302(This story corrects the number of U.S. and other foreign troops in Afghanistan, paragraphs 15, 16.) A bipartisan delegation of U.S. senators visiting Afghanistan on Tuesday called for a new strategy from the Trump administration to turn the tide against an increasingly strong Taliban insurgency and end the longest war in U.S. history. The delegation …

]]>(This story corrects the number of U.S. and other foreign troops in Afghanistan, paragraphs 15, 16.)U.S. Senator John McCain speaks during a news conference in Kabul, Afghanistan July 4, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail

A bipartisan delegation of U.S. senators visiting Afghanistan on Tuesday called for a new strategy from the Trump administration to turn the tide against an increasingly strong Taliban insurgency and end the longest war in U.S. history.

The delegation led by Senator John McCain was in Kabul on a regional trip that included two days in neighboring Pakistan.

The visit preceded an expected Trump review later in the month of the strategy for the United States’ longest war, now in its 16th year, a subject that was largely absent from last year’s presidential campaign.

Since the exit of most foreign troops in 2014, Afghanistan’s U.S.-backed government has lost ground to a Taliban insurgency in a war that kills and maims thousands of civilians each year and has made Afghanistan the second-ranking country in people seeking refugee status abroad last year, behind Syria.

McCain said in a Kabul press briefing on Tuesday at NATO-coalition headquarters that “none of us would say that we are on a course to success here in Afghanistan”.

“That needs to change and quickly,” added McCain, a sharp critic of Trump within their Republican party.

McCain was accompanied by U.S. senators Lindsey Graham, Elizabeth Warren, Sheldon Whitehouse and David Perdue on the regional tour.

Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, said she came to get “the view on the ground about what is happening” in Afghanistan.

“We need a strategy in the United States that defines our role in Afghanistan, defines our objective and explains how we can get from here to there,” Warren said.

U.S. officials have told Reuters that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will present Trump with strategic options for Afghanistan by mid-July.

Last month, Trump gave Mattis the authority to set American troop levels in Afghanistan, but as commander in chief Trump must sign off on an overall strategy for the war.

U.S. security officials have privately said the most likely options will be to increase training and air support by 3,000-5,000 troops for still-inexperienced Afghan security forces, while also tracking down al Qaeda, Islamic State and other global Islamist militants based in Afghanistan.

The commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, has said “several thousand” more foreign troops – mostly trainers – are needed to break a military stalemate with the Taliban.

In 2001, a U.S.-backed military intervention in Afghanistan toppled the Taliban regime, whose ultra-hardline interpretation of sharia (Islamic law) banned most women from public life and executed people not seen as sufficiently pious, such as men with beards not considered long enough.

More than 15 years later, about 13,000 U.S. and allied troops remain in Afghanistan as part of a training and advising mission in support of an elected government that has increasingly been losing ground to a Taliban insurgency that now controls or contests some 40 percent of territory.

Several thousand more American troops operate under a counterterrorism mission aimed at groups like Islamic State and al Qaeda.

]]>Germany says remains to be seen what U.S. says on steel at G20http://newsabc.net/germany-says-remains-seen-u-s-says-steel-g20/
Wed, 05 Jul 2017 12:02:45 +0000http://newsabc.net/?p=7299Germany said it was waiting to see what U.S. President Donald Trump’s delegation had to say on the issue of over capacity in the steel industry at a summit of the Group of 20 leading economies starting in Hamburg on Friday. “I can’t say in advance what the results – or individual results – of …

]]>Germany said it was waiting to see what U.S. President Donald Trump’s delegation had to say on the issue of over capacity in the steel industry at a summit of the Group of 20 leading economies starting in Hamburg on Friday.FILE PHOTO – Iron workers install steel beams during a hot summer day in New York, July 17, 2013. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

“I can’t say in advance what the results – or individual results – of this G20 will be,” government spokesman Steffen Seibert told a regular government news conference on Wednesday.

Asked if steel would be an issue, he added: “That will become apparent. It also remains to be seen what the American president brings (to the meeting).”

White House economic adviser Gary Cohn said last week Trump would use the premise of a national security review of the U.S. steel industry to demand action by G20 leaders to reduce excess capacity and other distortions in the global steel market.

]]>North Korea says its ICBM can carry nuclear warhead; U.S. calls for global actionhttp://newsabc.net/north-korea-says-icbm-can-carry-nuclear-warhead-u-s-calls-global-action/
Wed, 05 Jul 2017 12:01:30 +0000http://newsabc.net/?p=7296North Korea said on Wednesday its newly developed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) can carry a large nuclear warhead, triggering a call by Washington for global action to hold it accountable for pursuing nuclear weapons. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Defense Department said it had concluded that North Korea test-launched an ICBM on Tuesday, which some …

]]>North Korea said on Wednesday its newly developed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) can carry a large nuclear warhead, triggering a call by Washington for global action to hold it accountable for pursuing nuclear weapons.North Korean leader Kim Jong Un looks on during the test-launch of the intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-14 in this undated photo released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang July 5, 2017. KCNA/via REUTERS

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Defense Department said it had concluded that North Korea test-launched an ICBM on Tuesday, which some experts now believe had the range to reach the U.S. state of Alaska as well as parts of the mainland United States.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the test, on the eve of the U.S. Independence Day holiday, represented “a new escalation of the threat” to the United States and its allies, and vowed to take stronger measures.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the test completed his country’s strategic weapons capability that includes atomic and hydrogen bombs and ICBMs, the state KCNA news agency said.

Pyongyang would not negotiate with the United States to give up those weapons until Washington abandons its hostile policy against the North, KCNA quoted Kim as saying.

“He, with a broad smile on his face, told officials, scientists and technicians that the U.S. would be displeased … as it was given a ‘package of gifts’ on its ‘Independence Day’,” KCNA said.

Kim ordered them to “frequently send big and small ‘gift packages’ to the Yankees,” it added.

The launch came days before leaders from the Group of 20 nations are due to discuss steps to rein in North Korea’s weapons program, which it has pursued in defiance of United Nations Security Council sanctions.

The test successfully verified the technical requirements of the newly developed ICBM in stage separation, the atmospheric re-entry of the warhead and the late-stage control of the warhead, KCNA said.

Tillerson warned that any country that hosts North Korean workers, provides economic or military aid to Pyongyang, or fails to implement U.N. sanctions “is aiding and abetting a dangerous regime”.

“All nations should publicly demonstrate to North Korea that there are consequences to their pursuit of nuclear weapons,” Tillerson said in a statement.

DIPLOMATIC PRESSURE

U.S. President Donald Trump has been urging China, North Korea’s main trading partner and only big ally, to press Pyongyang to give up its nuclear program.

The U.N. Security Council, currently chaired by China, will hold an emergency meeting on the matter at 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT) on Wednesday, following a request by the United States, Japan and South Korea.

Diplomats say Beijing has not been fully enforcing existing international sanctions on its neighbor, and has resisted tougher measures, such as an oil embargo, bans on the North Korean airline and guest workers, and measures against Chinese banks and other firms doing business with the North.

A 2015 U.N. document estimated that more than 50,000 North Korean workers were overseas earning currencies for the regime, with the vast majority in China and Russia.

North Korea appeared to have used a Chinese truck, originally sold for hauling timber, but later converted for military use, to transport and erect the missile on Tuesday.

Trump has indicated he is running out of patience with Beijing’s efforts to rein in North Korea. His administration has said all options are on the table, military included, but suggested those would be a last resort and that sanctions and diplomatic pressure were its preferred course.

Trump is due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin during the G20 meeting in Germany this week.

Russia and China joined diplomatic forces on Tuesday and called for North Korea to suspend its ballistic missile program in return for a moratorium on large-scale military exercises by the United States and South Korea.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the joint statement showed the international community wanted dialogue and not antagonistic voices, as he also urged North Korea not to violate U.N. Security Council resolutions.

“We hope relevant counties can maintain calm and restraint, and not take steps that might worsen tensions on the peninsula,” Geng told a daily briefing.

The U.S. and South Korean militaries conducted a ballistic missile test early on Wednesday in a show of force on the east coast of the Korean peninsula. The South said the drill aimed to showcase the ability to strike at the North’s leadership if necessary.

“It’s discouraging that the Chinese (and Russians) are still calling for ‘restraint by all sides’, despite the fact that their client state, North Korea, has cast aside all restraint and is sprinting for the finish line in demonstrating a nuclear-armed ICBM capability,” said Daniel Russel, formerly Washington’s top East Asia diplomat, now a diplomat in residence at the Asia Society Policy Institute.

LONG-RANGE MISSILE

The North’s state media said the missile, Hwasong-14, flew 933 km (580 miles), reaching an altitude of 2,802 km (1,741 miles) in its 39 minutes of flight.

Some analysts said the flight details suggested the new missile had a range of more than 8,000 km (4,970 miles), which would put significant parts of the U.S. mainland in range, a major advance in the North’s program.

The launch was both earlier and “far more successful than expected”, said U.S.-based missile expert John Schilling, a contributor to the Washington-based North Korea monitoring project, 38 North.

It would now probably only be a year or two before a North Korean ICBM achieved “minimal operational capability,” he added.

Experts say a reliable nuclear-tipped ICBM would require a small warhead to fit a long-range missile, technology to protect against intense heat as it re-enters the atmosphere, separate the warhead and guide it to its target.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who ordered Wednesday’s drill, said, “The situation was no longer sufficient to respond to the North’s provocation by making statements,” according to his office.

Tuesday’s test poses fresh challenges for Moon, who took office in May with a pledge to engage the North in dialogue while keeping up pressure and sanctions to impede its weapons programs.

His defense minister, Han Min-koo, told parliament on Wednesday there was a high possibility of a sixth nuclear test by the North, but there were no specific indications.

For an interactive graphic on North Korea’s missile program, click here

For a graphic of map locating the missile test on July 4, click here

(Additional reporting by Lesley Wroughton, David Brunnstrom and Phil Stewart in Washington, and Michelle Nichols in New York and Christian Shepherd in Beijing; Editing by Soyoung Kim and Clarence Fernandez)

]]>South Korea does not aim to change U.S. missile defense deal: security adviserhttp://newsabc.net/south-korea-not-aim-change-u-s-missile-defense-deal-security-adviser/
Sat, 10 Jun 2017 03:46:48 +0000http://newsabc.net/?p=7265South Korea does not aim to change its agreement on the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system to protect against North Korea, in spite of a decision to delay its full installation, Seoul’s top national security adviser said on Friday. Chung Eui-yong called the decision to delay installation of remaining launchers of the Terminal High …

]]>South Korea does not aim to change its agreement on the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system to protect against North Korea, in spite of a decision to delay its full installation, Seoul’s top national security adviser said on Friday.FILE PHOTO: A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor (R) is seen in Seongju, South Korea, April 26, 2017. Lee Jong-hyeon/News1 via REUTERS

Chung Eui-yong called the decision to delay installation of remaining launchers of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, pending a review of its environmental impact, a domestic measure to ensure a democratic process.

“The decision to introduce THAAD was made to protect South Korea and the U.S. forces in South Korea from a growing threat from the North. We won’t take this decision lightly,” Chung told a news briefing.

He said South Korea would discuss ways to strengthen the joint defense against North Korea’s weapons programs during a summit between new South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump in late June.

Two launchers of a full six-launcher THAAD battery, as well as the system’s far-reaching radar, which China worries could upset the regional security balance, have already been installed on an old golf course in South Korea’s southeastern city of Seongju.

Moon’s office said on Wednesday that deployment of the four remaining launchers would be halted for the environmental assessment, which may take well over a year, according to a senior administration official.

Moon vowed in his election campaign to review the decision to deploy THAAD, which was made by his conservative predecessor, Park Geun-hye, greatly angering South Korea’s neighbor China, an important trading partner, and some domestic critics.

U.S. officials have sought to play down the impact on relations with South Korea, a long-time treaty ally where more than 28,000 troops are based, although a Pentagon spokesman made clear it would like to see the full battery installed.

“We believe considering the threat from North Korea, a full THAAD battery is the best addition to the defense of (South Korea),” Commander Gary Ross said.

A senior official of the U.S. administration told Reuters that U.S. diplomats had sought clarification from South Korean officials as to whether the environmental review was a prelude for a rejection of the whole THAAD system, and were assured that South Korea planned to uphold its end of the agreement.

The issue was discussed by Trump, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at a White House meeting on Thursday.

A State Department spokeswoman, Katina Adams, said the decision to deploy THAAD was an essential response to North Korea’s fast-developing nuclear and missiles programs, which has seen dozens of launches and two bomb tests since the start of last year.

“Each launch … further demonstrates the rationale and necessity of the U.S.-(South Korea) Alliance agreement to deploy THAAD,” she said.

The State Department said U.S. Under Secretary of State Thomas Shannon would visit Seoul from Tuesday to Thursday next week after a stop in Tokyo on Monday to discuss responses to North Korea.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has spoken of his aim to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the mainland United States with a nuclear weapon, presenting Trump with perhaps his most pressing security problem and underscoring the need for close cooperation with Seoul.

Nevertheless, Trump, who campaigned on a populist “America First” platform, risked increased tensions with the U.S. ally when he told Reuters in an interview just before Moon’s election he would either renegotiate or terminate a “horrible” free trade deal with South Korea and said Seoul should pay for THAAD, which he priced at $1 billion.

(Reporting by Christine Kim and Soyoung Kim in Seoul and David Brunnstrom and Steve Holland in Washington; Editing by Robert Birsel and James Dalgleish)

]]>Trump fires FBI Director Comey, setting off U.S. political stormhttp://newsabc.net/trump-fires-fbi-director-comey-setting-off-u-s-political-storm/
Wed, 10 May 2017 04:16:12 +0000http://newsabc.net/?p=7217U.S. President Donald Trump ignited a political firestorm on Tuesday by firing FBI Director James Comey, who had been leading an investigation into the Trump 2016 presidential campaign’s possible collusion with Russia to influence the election outcome. The Republican president said he fired Comey, the top U.S. law enforcement official, over his handling of an …

]]>U.S. President Donald Trump ignited a political firestorm on Tuesday by firing FBI Director James Comey, who had been leading an investigation into the Trump 2016 presidential campaign’s possible collusion with Russia to influence the election outcome.FILE PHOTO – FBI Director James Comey is sworn in to testify before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on “Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation” on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

The Republican president said he fired Comey, the top U.S. law enforcement official, over his handling of an election-year email scandal involving then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

The move stunned Washington and raised suspicions among Democrats and others that the White House was trying to blunt the FBI probe involving Russia.

Some Democrats compared Trump’s move to the “Saturday Night Massacre” of 1973, in which President Richard Nixon fired an independent special prosecutor investigating the Watergate scandal.

White House officials denied allegations that there was any political motive in the move by Trump, who took office on Jan. 20.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said he spoke to Trump and told him he was “making a very big mistake” in firing Comey, adding the president did not “really answer” in response.

An independent investigation into Moscow’s role in the election “is now the only way to go to restore the American people’s faith,” Schumer said.

Though many Democrats have criticized Comey’s handling of the Clinton email probe, they said they were troubled by the timing of Trump’s firing of him.

Senator Richard Burr, the Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is overseeing its own investigation into Russian interference during the election, said in a statement he was also troubled by the timing of Comey’s termination.

“His dismissal, I believe, is a loss for the Bureau and the nation,” Burr said.

U.S. intelligence agencies concluded in a January report that Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered an effort to disrupt the 2016 election, with the aim of helping Trump.

CNN reported on Tuesday night that federal prosecutors had issued grand jury subpoenas to former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, seeking business records, as part of the probe into Russian interference in the election.

Trump’s firing of Comey came a day after former acting Attorney General Sally Yates told a Senate panel that she had informed the White House on Jan. 26 that Flynn was at risk of blackmail by Moscow because he had been untruthful about his discussions with the Russian ambassador, Sergei Kislyak. Trump fired Flynn 18 days later.

Russia has repeatedly denied any meddling in the election and the Trump administration denies allegations of collusion with Russia.

RESTORING ‘PUBLIC TRUST’

Trump, in a letter to Comey released by the White House, said: “It is essential that we find new leadership for the FBI that restores public trust and confidence in its vital law enforcement mission.”

The president told Comey in the letter that he accepted the recommendation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions that he could no longer provide effective leadership. Comey’s term was to run through September 2023. He was appointed director by Democratic President Barack Obama in 2013.

Sessions advised Trump’s campaign before being picked by the president to lead the Justice Department. Sessions had recused himself from involvement in the Russia investigation, after he misstated his own 2016 contacts with Russia’s ambassador to Washington.

Comey’s deputy, Andrew McCabe, became acting FBI director. The White House said the search for a new permanent director would begin immediately.

Pushing back against critics of the move, White House officials said Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, a career prosecutor who took office on April 25, assessed the situation at the FBI and concluded that Comey had lost his confidence.

Rosenstein sent his recommendation to Sessions, who concurred and they forwarded their recommendation to Trump, who accepted it on Tuesday, they said.

The White House released a memo in which Rosenstein wrote: “I cannot defend the Director’s handling of the conclusion of the investigation of Secretary Clinton’s emails, and I do not understand his refusal to accept the nearly universal judgment that he was mistaken.”

Rosenstein cited several former Justice Department officials’ comments criticizing Comey’s handling of the Clinton email investigation, including his public statements.

But one of those he cited, Donald Ayer, a former deputy attorney general under President H.W. Bush, questioned the purported reasons for the firing. Reached by Reuters, Ayer said in an email that the administration’s explanation was “a sham.”

Comey was traveling in Los Angeles when the news broke that he had been fired.

In an odd twist, a White House official said the letter firing him was delivered to the FBI by Keith Schiller, Trump’s longtime armed personal bodyguard who is now director of Oval Office Operations at the White House.

Trump, in the letter, said: “While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the bureau.”

EMAIL CONTROVERSY

Comey, 56, had been the target of criticism from many quarters for his handling of a probe involving Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was U.S. secretary of state under Obama. As recently as Tuesday, the FBI clarified remarks that Comey made on the matter last week.

Trump had originally criticized the FBI director for not pursuing criminal charges against Clinton last July, but later lavished praise on him.

Comey had said in July the Clinton email case should be closed without prosecution, but then declared – 11 days before the Nov. 8 election – that he had reopened the investigation because of a discovery of a new trove of Clinton-related emails.

Clinton and other Democrats say they believe Comey’s decision help cost her the election.

The firing came as a shock to FBI staff, nearly all of whom had confidence in Comey despite the controversy surrounding his handling of the Clinton email situation, according to an FBI official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The official said there was concern among agents that the firing was a political act related to the Russian investigation.

Other current and former U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials questioned the White House explanation for Comey’s firing.

“Trump praised him for the work on the email investigation, so that’s not it,” said Austin Berglas, a former FBI supervisory agent on hacking cases. “I think he realized the extent of the Russia investigation under way and moved him out. To me, that’s the only logical explanation right now.”

Trump’s dismissal of Comey does not mean the FBI’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the U.S. presidential election will be disrupted or end – career FBI staffers can continue the probe even as the search for a new FBI director begins, legal experts said.

Republican Representative Justin Amash wrote on Twitter that he and his staff were reviewing the possibility of drafting legislation to create an independent commission to look into the Russian campaign meddling.

Legislation related to the appointment of a special prosecutor or independent counsel has lapsed. But Justice Department regulations provide for the appointment of a special counsel, which is selected by the attorney general, or acting attorney general in the case of recusal, the experts said.

]]>South Korea says U.S. reaffirms it will pay THAAD costs; Trump calls Asia allieshttp://newsabc.net/south-korea-says-u-s-reaffirms-it-will-pay-thaad-costs-trump-calls-asia-allies/
Mon, 01 May 2017 03:52:12 +0000http://newsabc.net/?p=7192South Korea said the United States had reaffirmed it would shoulder the cost of deploying the THAAD anti-missile system, days after President Donald Trump said Seoul should pay for the $1 billion battery designed to defend against North Korea. In a telephone call on Sunday, Trump’s national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, reassured his South Korean …

]]>South Korea said the United States had reaffirmed it would shoulder the cost of deploying the THAAD anti-missile system, days after President Donald Trump said Seoul should pay for the $1 billion battery designed to defend against North Korea.A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor (R) is seen in Seongju, South Korea, April 26, 2017. Lee Jong-hyeon/News1 via REUTERS

In a telephone call on Sunday, Trump’s national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, reassured his South Korean counterpart, Kim Kwan-jin, that the U.S. alliance with South Korea was its top priority in the Asia-Pacific region, the South’s presidential office said.

The conversation followed another North Korean missile test-launch on Saturday which Washington and Seoul said was unsuccessful, but which drew widespread international condemnation.

Trump, asked about his message to North Korea after the latest missile test, told reporters: “You’ll soon find out,” but did not elaborate on what the U.S. response would be.

Trump stepped up his outreach to allies in Asia over the weekend to discuss the North Korean nuclear threat and make sure all are “on the same page” if action is needed, a top White House official said.

The president spoke on Sunday to Thailand Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who heads a military government that took power in a 2014 coup, and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and invited both of them to Washington. He talked on Saturday night with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, who was also invited for talks. The White House defended the Duterte call, saying his cooperation was needed to counter North Korea, even as the administration faced criticism for its overture to Manila. Duterte has been accused by human rights groups of supporting an anti-drug campaign of extrajudicial killings, which his government denies.

“There is nothing right now facing this country and facing the region that is a bigger threat than what is happening in North Korea,” White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus told ABC’s “This Week.”

Trump’s comments in an interview with Reuters on Thursday that he wanted Seoul to pay for the THAAD deployment perplexed South Koreans and raised questions about his commitment to the two countries’ alliance.

South Korean officials responded that the cost was for Washington to bear, under the bilateral agreement.

“National security adviser H.R. McMaster explained that the recent statements by President Trump were made in a general context, in line with the U.S. public expectations on defense cost burden-sharing with allies,” South Korea’s Blue House said in a statement, adding that McMaster requested the call.

Major elements of the advanced Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system were moved into the planned site in Seonjgu, in the south of the country, in the past week.

The deployment has drawn protests from China, which says the powerful radar that can penetrate its territory will undermine regional security, and from local residents worried they will be a target for North Korean missiles.

About 300 residents rallied on Sunday as two U.S. Army trucks tried to enter the THAAD deployment site. Video provided by villagers showed protesters blocking the road with a car and chanting slogans such as “Don’t lie to us! Go back to your country!”

Police said they had sent about 800 officers to the site and two residents were injured during clashes with them.

South Korea and the United States say the sole purpose of THAAD is to guard against North Korean missiles.

Vice President Mike Pence reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to South Korea’s security but said on NBC that Trump would “continue to call on the prosperous nations that the United States provides security and protection for to do more in their own defense.”

The United States is seeking more help from China, the North’s major ally, to rein in Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile development. Trump, in the Reuters interview, praised Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping as a “good man”.

TENSIONS HIGH

The North has been conducting missile- and nuclear weapons-related activities at an unprecedented rate and is believed to have made progress in developing intermediate-range and submarine-launched missiles.

Tension on the Korean peninsula has been high for weeks over fears the North may conduct a long-range missile test, or its sixth nuclear test, around the time of the April 15 anniversary of its state founder’s birth.

In excerpts of an interview with CBS News released on Saturday, Trump said the United States and China would “not be happy” with a nuclear test, but gave no other details.

U.S. officials have said privately that while military options remain on the table, the Trump administration is focusing for now on pressuring North with both unilateral and international sanctions and getting China to do more to restrain Pyongyang.

In an address to a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Saturday, Duterte urged the United States to show restraint after North Korea’s latest missile test and to avoid playing into the hands of leader Kim Jong Un, who “wants to end the world”.

Two-month long U.S.-South Korean joint military drills were due to conclude on Sunday, U.S. and South Korean officials said.

The exercise, called Foal Eagle, was repeatedly denounced by North Korea, which saw it as a rehearsal for war.

In a further show of force, the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier group arrived in waters near the Korean peninsula and began exercises with the South Korean navy late on Saturday. The South Korean navy declined to say when the exercises would be completed.

The dispatch of the Carl Vinson was a “reckless action of the war maniacs aimed at an extremely dangerous nuclear war,” the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, said in a commentary on Saturday.

The carrier group has just completed drills with the Japanese navy.

Japanese Defence Minister Tomomi Inada, in an apparent show of solidarity with Washington, has ordered the Izumo, Japan’s biggest warship, to protect a U.S. Navy ship that might be going to help supply the USS Carl Vinson, the Asahi newspaper said.

]]>U.S. submarine makes South Korea port call, North remains defianthttp://newsabc.net/u-s-submarine-makes-south-korea-port-call-north-remains-defiant/
Tue, 25 Apr 2017 03:23:22 +0000http://newsabc.net/?p=7170A nuclear-powered U.S. submarine made a port call in South Korea on Tuesday in a show of force amid concerns that North Korea may mark the foundation of its military with a missile launch or a nuclear test, defying U.S. and Chinese pressure. The port call by the USS Michigan, announced by the U.S. military …

]]>A nuclear-powered U.S. submarine made a port call in South Korea on Tuesday in a show of force amid concerns that North Korea may mark the foundation of its military with a missile launch or a nuclear test, defying U.S. and Chinese pressure.The USS Michigan, an Ohio-class nuclear-powered submarine, arrives at a naval base in Busan, South Korea, April 25, 2017. Cho Jueong-ho/Yonhap via REUTERS

The port call by the USS Michigan, announced by the U.S. military in South Korea, came as the top nuclear envoys from South Korea, Japan, and the United States were to meet in Tokyo to discuss responses to the North’s refusal to give up its nuclear program.

The USS Michigan is built to carry submarine-launched ballistic missiles and Tomahawk cruise missiles.

U.S. President Donald Trump called for tougher new U.N. sanctions on Pyongyang on Monday, saying the North was a global threat and “a problem that we have to finally solve”.

“The status quo in North Korea is also unacceptable,” Trump told a meeting with the 15 U.N. Security Council ambassadors, including China and Russia, at the White House. “The council must be prepared to impose additional and stronger sanctions on North Korean nuclear and ballistic missile programs.”

South Korean and U.S. officials have feared for some time that a sixth North Korean nuclear test could be imminent. Speculation has grown that such a test, or another long-range missile launch, could coincide with the 85th anniversary of the foundation of the North’s Korean People’s Army on Tuesday.

The official China Daily said on Tuesday it was time for Pyongyang and Washington to take a step back from harsh rhetoric and heed the voices of reason calling for a peaceful resolution.

“Judging from their recent words and deeds, policymakers in Pyongyang have seriously misread the U.N. sanctions, which are aimed at its nuclear/missile provocations, not its system or leadership,” the newspaper said in an editorial.

“They are at once perilously overestimating their own strength and underestimating the hazards they are brewing for themselves,” it said.

In a phone conversation with Trump on Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for all sides to exercise restraint.

Two Japanese destroyers conducted exercises on Monday with a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group that is also headed for Korean waters, sent by Trump as a warning to the North.

Trump has also sought to pressure China to do more to rein in its nuclear-armed neighbor.

China, North Korea’s sole major ally, has in turn been angered by Pyongyang’s belligerence, as well as its nuclear and missile programs.

Regardless, North Korea has carried out nuclear and missile tests in defiance of successive rounds of United Nations sanctions.

Angered by the approach of the USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group, which could arrive within days, North Korea said the deployment was “an extremely dangerous act by those who plan a nuclear war to invade”.

“The United States should not run amok and should consider carefully any catastrophic consequence from its foolish military provocative act,” Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, said in a commentary.

]]>Germany’s Merkel encouraged U.S. will consider EU free trade dealhttp://newsabc.net/germanys-merkel-encouraged-u-s-will-consider-eu-free-trade-deal/
Mon, 24 Apr 2017 03:41:17 +0000http://newsabc.net/?p=7151German Chancellor Angela Merkel fueled expectations of a future EU-U.S trade deal on Sunday, saying she was “very encouraged” talks were being looked at after her recent trip to Washington. Merkel, speaking at the opening of the 70th annual Hannover Messe trade fair, said Germany was opposed to protectionism and trade barriers, and would continue …

]]>German Chancellor Angela Merkel fueled expectations of a future EU-U.S trade deal on Sunday, saying she was “very encouraged” talks were being looked at after her recent trip to Washington.DAY 57 / MARCH 17: The first face-to-face meeting between President Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel started awkwardly and ended even more oddly, with a quip by Trump about wiretapping that left the German leader visibly bewildered.REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Merkel, speaking at the opening of the 70th annual Hannover Messe trade fair, said Germany was opposed to protectionism and trade barriers, and would continue to work for trade agreements like the one signed between the European Union and Canada.

“I also feel very encouraged by my visit to the United States that negotiations between the EU and the United States on a free trade agreement … are also being looked at,” she said.

Merkel’s comments came after the London Times reported on Saturday that U.S. President Donald Trump had warmed to a deal with the bloc after meeting Merkel in March.

A source close to the White House was quoted as saying that there had been a “realization” in the Trump administration that a trade deal with the EU – allowing the tariff-free exchange of goods and services – was more important to U.S. interests than a post-Brexit deal with Britain.

The newspaper quoted a senior German politician as saying that Trump had repeatedly asked Merkel about signing a bilateral trade deal, but was told such an accord could only be negotiated by the EU.

Merkel did not mention the exchange, saying only that she was very encouraged following her U.S. visit and adding that the EU’s first priority was to complete work on a deal with Japan.

One of Trump’s first acts as president was to cancel U.S. participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a free trade deal among 11 Pacific Rim countries.

The EU and the United States had begun negotiating the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership under then-President Barack Obama, but the work was not completed.

]]>U.S. states realign in legal battle over Trump’s travel banhttp://newsabc.net/u-s-states-realign-in-legal-battle-over-trumps-travel-ban/
Sat, 22 Apr 2017 12:40:05 +0000http://newsabc.net/?p=7140President Donald Trump’s travel ban on citizens of six Muslim-majority nations faces its second challenge at a U.S. appeals court next month, and this time more Republican states are backing the measure, while one Democratic state attorney general dropped out of the legal fight this week. Some legal experts say the states’ realignment could signal …

]]>President Donald Trump’s travel ban on citizens of six Muslim-majority nations faces its second challenge at a U.S. appeals court next month, and this time more Republican states are backing the measure, while one Democratic state attorney general dropped out of the legal fight this week.An immigration activist protests against the Trump administration’s new ban against travelers from six Muslim-majority nations, outside of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection headquarters in Washington, U.S. on March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Thayer/File Photo

Some legal experts say the states’ realignment could signal that the changes made last month to Trump’s original executive order have strengthened the government’s case.

Sixteen Democratic state attorneys general and the District of Colombia on Thursday filed a “friend of the court” brief backing Hawaii in its bid to block the March 6 executive order, which two federal judges put on hold before it could be implemented. Hawaii and other states argue the ban violates the U.S. Constitution because it discriminates against Muslims.

But Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who opposed the original ban that Trump signed on Jan. 27, did not join Thursday’s brief, which was filed in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. Shapiro declined to comment.

On the other side, Texas, which had been alone in its support for the original January order, has gained the support of 14 Republican states urging that the ban go forward in a legal brief filed on April 10. Those states back the government’s argument that the president has wide authority to implement immigration policy and that the ban is needed to prevent terrorist attacks.

Trump’s original ban, which the president said was needed for national security to head off attacks by Islamist militants, applied to seven Muslim-majority nations and indefinitely banned the entry of all refugees from Syria. It was revised and narrowed after a flurry of legal challenges.

“The second executive order was much more carefully written than the first. Maybe when various states analyzed it they weren’t as interested as joining,” said Stephen Yale-Loehr an immigration expert at Cornell University Law School. However, he said, “amicus briefs sometimes are filed for political reasons.”

Some judges pay close attention to amicus briefs, while others disregard them.

The U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment.

Trump’s January order was hastily implemented just days after his inauguration, leading to chaos and protests at airports and more than two dozen lawsuits. A federal judge in Seattle halted the order and the 9th circuit upheld that ruling.

The White House re-crafted the order to exclude legal permanent residents and removed Iraq from the list of targeted countries. Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen are still included in the new order. The new ban also dropped language giving preference to refugees who are part of a persecuted religious minority in their country of citizenship.

The changes were meant to chip away at the plaintiffs’ “standing” to sue, which requires that anyone bringing a lawsuit show they have been directly harmed by the action they are contesting.

But as soon as the second order was signed, states and civil rights groups went back to court, saying that it was still discriminatory.

Federal district judges in Maryland and Hawaii put the second order on hold before it could take effect on March 16.

The judge in Hawaii blocked the two central sections of the ban, on travel and refugees, while the Maryland judge only halted the travel portion.

Most of the focus is now on the Hawaii case, which is being heard by the 9th Circuit on May 15.

The 4th Circuit appeals court in Virginia is slated to hear arguments in the Maryland case on May 8.

Not all states have staked out a side in the fight. Pennsylvania now is among 18 states, including Michigan, Ohio, and New Jersey that have not taken sides on the issue, opting not to file any legal briefs.

(Reporting by Dan Levine in San Francisco and Mica Rosenberg in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Leslie Adler)

]]>U.S. will not give Exxon permission to drill in Russiahttp://newsabc.net/u-s-will-not-give-exxon-permission-to-drill-in-russia/
Sat, 22 Apr 2017 03:18:44 +0000http://newsabc.net/?p=7127The United States will not make an exception for American companies, including oil major Exxon Mobil Corp, seeking to drill in areas prohibited by U.S. sanctions on Russia, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Friday. The unusually direct statement served to clarify that the United States would maintain a tough stance on sanctions against Moscow. …

]]>The United States will not make an exception for American companies, including oil major Exxon Mobil Corp, seeking to drill in areas prohibited by U.S. sanctions on Russia, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Friday.Logos of ExxonMobil are seen in its booth at Gastech, the world’s biggest expo for the gas industry, in Chiba, Japan April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

The unusually direct statement served to clarify that the United States would maintain a tough stance on sanctions against Moscow.

“In consultation with President Donald J. Trump, the Treasury Department will not be issuing waivers to U.S. companies, including Exxon, authorizing drilling prohibited by current Russian sanctions,” Mnuchin said in a statement.

The United States and European Union imposed economic sanctions on Russia over its annexation of the Crimea region in 2014 and its role in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The sanctions forced Exxon, the world’s largest publicly traded oil producer, to wind down drilling in Russia’s Arctic in 2014.

Exxon had asked for and received in 2015 and 2016 waivers to operate a joint venture with Russian oil producer Rosneft in Russia. European Union sanctions do not keep European oil companies from operating in Russia, a point of annoyance for Exxon.

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Exxon had in recent months applied for a Treasury Department waiver to drill with Rosneft. Jeffers said Exxon had not applied for waivers from Treasury since Trump took office.

Any such request would have drawn attention because Exxon’s former chief executive, Rex Tillerson, is now U.S. secretary of state. Under his leadership, Exxon lobbied Congress on Russia sanctions, and Tillerson opposed sanctions against Russia in 2014, saying they would be ineffective.

U.S. lawmakers are investigating possible ties between some Trump campaign aides and Moscow. Republicans in Congress as well as U.S. allies in Europe are anxious about any sign that the Trump administration might ease some of the sanctions imposed on Russia.

During his confirmation hearing in January, Tillerson said he never personally lobbied against sanctions and that he was not aware of Exxon Mobil directly doing so, later acknowledging that he spoke to former U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew regarding gaps between American and European sanctions on Russia.

Tillerson has pledged to recuse himself until the end of this year from any matter involving Exxon Mobil unless he is authorized to participate. He also has until early May to sell his Exxon Mobil stock.

SANCTIONS CLARITY

U.S. companies frequently file license applications to the Treasury Department asking permission to undertake activities that would otherwise be barred by sanctions. The U.S. government weighs each application based on national security interests, the law and other factors.

The refusal is unlikely to affect Exxon Mobil’s bottom line, as it has not been able to operate in Russia for several years, but it does hinder its growth potential.

Treasury almost never comments publicly on license applications. Mnuchin’s statement will likely serve to clarify the U.S. stance on sanctions against Russia at a time when American allies are looking for clues to U.S. policy, observers said.

“It’s good from a regulatory perspective as it provides clarity to U.S. companies, but it’s also great from a foreign policy perspective,” Edward Fishman, a fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank and former State Department official during the Obama administration, said of Mnuchin’s statement. “Any uncertainty about the future of sanctions scares our allies and encourages Russia to prolong its aggression in Ukraine.”